A view from Providence: Synagogue is a mirror of Jewish history

By Donita Naylor Journal Staff Writer

Saturday

Jul 25, 2015 at 11:15 PM

As the only surviving Orthodox synagogue on Smith Hill, Congregation Sons of Jacob tells the story of Jews in Providence.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — As the only surviving Orthodox synagogue on Smith Hill, Congregation Sons of Jacob has accumulated 13 Torah scrolls, which are the five books of Moses inked by hand in Hebrew on kosher animal parchment.

As each synagogue closed, its Torah went to Sons of Jacob, said the congregation's president, Harold Silverman, who led a tour Wednesday of the historical building where Douglas Avenue and Orms Street come together at the edge of Route 95. Silverman showed off many of the synagogue's treasures, from plaques and art to photos and letters, Hebrew books brought over from Russia, and the scrolls.

He had invited the congregation's Rabbi Yossi Laufer, and Laufer's father, Rabbi Yehoshua Laufer, as well as James Waters, an assistant professor of biology at Providence College, to help give the tour.

After backing away from the ark, where the scrolls are kept, Silverman mentioned that one of the Torahs had been donated to the senior Rabbi Laufer. Turning to Laufer, he corrected himself. The donation was more like a "permanent loan," he said, his playfulness almost concealed by a stern demeanor.

Silverman, who declined to give his age, has attended since 1973, when his mother died. He led the effort to get the building on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It was listed because of its importance as "the last remaining symbol of the once-thriving Jewish community" in the Smith Hill-Randall Square area and as an "example of early twentieth-century synagogue architecture in Rhode Island."

It also has 12 ceiling murals that depict the zodiac, painted by Silverman's 1923-1936 counterpart, Sam Shore.

Founded by a small group of Russian Jews in 1896, the congregation first met above a shop at Chalkstone Avenue and Shawmut Street, which disappeared to make room for the interstate. Long before that, however, the congregation bought land at 24 Douglas Ave., and in 1906 built the ground floor of a planned synagogue and started meeting there.

By 1922, the families who fled anti-Jewish violence in Russia, as well as those from Austria, Poland, Romania and Lithuania, had saved enough to add the upper two-story sanctuary, complete with a balcony for women. (Orthodox tradition requires women to sit separately from men in worship.) By 1942, the mortgage was paid off.

The rise and fall of the Sons of Jacob Synagogue tells the story of Jews in Providence.

Congregations sprang up in Randall Square, Smith Hill, Constitution Hill, and, in South Providence, around Prairie and Willard avenues. As Jewish businesses succeeded, families moved to more prosperous areas, and synagogues in the old neighborhoods failed or succumbed to development. Now the big synagogues are mostly on the city's East Side and in the suburbs.

Once attended by more than 300 families, Sons of Jacob had fewer than 30 in 1996, its 100th anniversary. For the last seven years, the main sanctuary hasn't been used, even for the high holidays, Silverman said. Once again, services are held in the small ground-floor chapel. But Silverman still opens the doors early each morning for prayer.

The synagogue's broken windows and fallen plaster saddened the Rev. Jakob Lazarus, a neighborhood priest who met Silverman and asked to see inside.

The priest, from the Church of the Holy Paraclete, an independent Catholic church about six blocks away, offered to bring over a work party, as a neighborly gesture. Also, he explained, the Lord promises to bless "those who bless the sons of Abraham."

In May, about 20 volunteers cleaned, and Sons of Jacob invited them back for a brunch, Father Jakob said. Now the two men meet regularly: Silverman is giving Hebrew lessons to Father Jakob.

On Wednesday, Silverman opened the big sanctuary and turned on the lights, including the crystal chandelier and the bulbs on the memorial tablets. The bulbs, each next to a name, were once illuminated only on the person's death anniversary.

"What you see now is clean," he said, ushering the group into the worship space.

In the rear of the sanctuary, a wooden memorial names about 200 Sons of Jacob members who served in World War II — the WWI monument stands outside. Each name from WWII is spelled with letters cut from wood and glued on. Many of the letters have fallen, but their outlines remain, and Waters and four PC students in 2014 reconstructed the list, which Waters has posted online. To see and search the list, visit sonsofjacobsynagogue.org and click on "memorial."

Silverman said that at the synagogue's 119th anniversary celebration, from 9 a.m. to noon on Aug. 9, he plans to hand out lists of the service members, alphabetized so relatives can find them.

After the tour, Silverman was asked what he considers the synagogue's most valuable treasure.

"Attendance!" he replied.

Waters said his answer would have been "Harold."

dnaylor@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7411

On Twitter: @donita22

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